Pushback Against New Bill Putting Thousands Out of Work

Traders, farmers, and unionized workers have joined the industry pushback against the government’s proposed new tobacco laws, saying they will harm businesses and lead to thousands of jobs lost.

The proposed Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill Health seeks to tighten the marketing and sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and new-generation products that are heated rather than burnt. It also includes provisions that introduce plain packaging, ban point-of-sale advertising and displays, and scrap the sale of single cigarettes.

The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA) and the Vapor Product Association (VPA) had previously warned of job losses if the bill is passed in its current form and urged the government to focus on stamping out the illicit cigarette market instead.

The latest to openly oppose the bill are agriculture industry association AgriSA, the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), and the South African Spaza and Tuckshop Association (Sasta), who said in a joint statement the bill would “devastate SA’s agriculture and township businesses”.

They also said the measures in the bill would put thousands of law-abiding Spaza shop owners and hawkers out of business and drive 80% of tobacco sales into the hands of criminals, and that the plain packaging provisions would boost the illicit cigarette trade.

Even the eKasi Entrepreneurship Movement, which assists township entrepreneurs, released a statement saying sensible health interventions were required to protect people from the dangers of tobacco — but the proposed ban on the display of tobacco products at wholesale and retail level would destroy township and informal businesses.